Brian Ashcraft

In June 2008, tragedy struck Tokyo's geek center Akihabara. A 25-year-old man named Tomohiro Kato drove a rented truck into a crowd of pedestrians. He then got out of the truck and began wildly stabbing bystanders.

Seven ended up dead and ten were injured.

At that time, the main drag in Akihabara was closed to vehicles, and the street had been dubbed "Pedestrian Paradise". After the massacre, the streets were no longer blocked to automobiles during the weekends. The mood in Akihabara changed forever.

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In an attempt to restore a sense of security to the area, this past Tuesday saw the installation of sixteen security cameras in the Akihabara streets.

"We hope the cameras will deter crimes. And we want to assure the public that Akihabara has become a safe place," Chiyoda Ward spokesman Kazuhisa Yamaguchi said.

This move comes nearly two years after the massacre. None of the cameras cover the site of the massacre.

To make people feel safer, the area has installed security cameras. Make that, to make people feel safer, the area is asking individuals to give up their privacy.

The footage will be monitored by the members of the neighborhood association, reports the Japan Times.

Akihabara, however, has also been the site of muggings called otaku gari, or otaku hunting, that target area otaku (geeks).